Retired AFL forward Josh Jenkins believes bonus points are the only way coaches will be enticed to play a more entertaining brand of football and increase scoring.
Jenkins played at the Crows during their reign under Don Pyke as an incredibly high-powered offence before switching to Geelong in 2019, experiencing a slower style of play.
The league has faced a constant battle to improve scoring in recent years, with former AFL footy boss Steve Hocking introducing numerous rules to combat the issue.
The ‘six-six-six’ rule, extended goal squares and the ‘stand’ rule have all been implemented in recent years to varying success.
2017 and 2018 saw the average points just below 83 per side, with the rate dropping to below 81 through the first 16 rounds of 2021.
Teams averaged 75 during the shorter quarters in 2020.
Brad Scott, the AFL’s new football manager, has previously stated that the upcoming season will be one of “consolidation” in regard to rule changes.
With Hocking’s changes not having the effect on scoring that would have been hoped, Jenkins pinned the blame on coaches in a conversation on SEN Drive with Cats star Patrick Dangerfield.
“There’s only one way to increase scoring, you have to incentivise scoring,” Jenkins said.
“(Bonus points) are the only way, there’s no other reason to increase scoring from a coach’s point of view.
“The last coach that preferred to score a goal rather than stop a goal got sacked, David Teague.
“The rest of them, almost every single one of them, and you might not want to agree with me Pat (Dangerfield) but I know you do, the coaches would rather stop a goal than score a goal.”
Dangerfield agreed, admitting “that’s always been the challenge”.
However, he and Jenkins were a part of the Crows outfit that marched into the Grand Final in 2017 off the back of their record scoring.
He points to that - and the late Phil Walsh’s style - as proof teams can be successful through aggressive footy.
“Phil Walsh had a bit of that about him… very aggressive, he still wanted us to be really strong defensively, but he wanted there to be a charismatic forward line that hummed and rolled that was entertaining to watch,” Dangerfield said.
“You’ve got to have the right forward group though, at the time it was coming into that realm where you have the power forwards, you had the smalls, you have the rotating midfielder, it was the perfect storm for something that could be really entertaining.
“Then in 2017, (we were averaging) 115 points a game or something, as high as there’s probably been in the last 25 years on average.”
While the Brownlow Medallist is well known for his stance on shortening the length of AFL quarters, his former teammate believes the opposite could help with scoring.
“I think the longer quarters help scoring, I think team defences, they tire out,” Jenkins said.
“Then, it’s all about those teams who are good in red time at the end of the quarter who can put up three or four goals, look what Melbourne did.”
Melbourne famously slammed home three goals in the last minute before three-quarter-time in the AFL Grand Final to close the door on a Western Bulldog’s comeback.
The AFL's competition committee met on Tuesday morning.
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